Factual Matrix 

In the Instant Matter of Shahbaz Ahmad Palla v. UT of J&K, The detainee’s father submitted a petition in which he contested the detention order issued against his 22-year-old son.

The petitioner complained that the reasons for imprisonment were ambiguous and unspecific in relation to the claimed activities stated dates and times and harm to the country.

The respondents claimed that Detenue had turned into a hard-core fundamentalist and freely accepted employment with The Resistance Front, which the lawyers said was a branch of LeT.

Analysis of Court order 

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s single-judge bench court presided over by Justice Atul Sreedharan, focused on the fundamentalist ideology of the detainee when examining the reasons behind the incarceration of the petitioner’s son. The District Magistrate’s use of the word fundamentalist ideology was recognised by the court, however, this does not necessarily imply an extreme worldview. A Muslim who practises fundamentalism is just someone who fervently adheres to the core principles of Islam. According to Section 8(a) of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, the inmate was ordered to be held in Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu. The order was accompanied by the grounds for detention and was required to stop the detainee from behaving in a way that adversely harmed the security of the state.

The Court reviewed the reasons in general light of the petitioner’s claims regarding the ambiguity. Detenu has been identified as a terrorist organisation TRF The Resistance Front active member who aids the group in its subversive activities in and around the Pulwama area. The Court emphasised that neither the type of subversive actions nor the date the petitioner first became a member of the association were particularly indicated in the groundwork. About the evidence surrounding the detinue’s fundamentalist ideology, the Court noted that followers of the Abrahamic Faith must inevitably hold to certain core beliefs to be regarded as followers of that faith. A fundamentalist is therefore someone who fervently seeks or adheres to the core principles of an Abrahamic faith, but there is no stigma attached to this term, and it is separate from an extremist or a separatist. The Court used the definition of fundamentalism in the Oxford Dictionary, which is the stringent upholding of historic orthodox religious ideas. ESP believe in the inerrancy of Scripture and literal acceptance of the creeds as foundations of protestant Christianity.

The Court stated that the detenue’s religious beliefs cannot negatively impact. The petition was granted, and the impugned detention order was overturned, but the court made it plain that the Detenue’s case would not be affected by the remarks made in this decision as it was being decided by the trial court.

CASE NAME – Shahbaz Ahmad Palla v. UT of J&K, WP(Crl) No. 142/2022